NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Facebook (FB) soared as analysts pointed to its strong mobile business in research notes, while Cisco Systems (CSCO) was downgraded by Sterne Agee CRT after reporting its fiscal third quarter. Apple (AAPL) advanced as two institutional investors increased their holdings in the iconic computer maker.

Facebook soared 3.7% to close at $81.37.

The social networking giant received favorable comments from analysts regarding its strong mobile business. J.P. Morgan, for example, said Facebook remained its "top pick" and pointed to some recent data from comScore that found users had strong engagement with the site, especially on mobile, according to a Benzingareport.

Facebook's slice of the users accessing the site via their smartphones reached 24% in April, up two percentage points March, according to the report. Benzinga further noted the J.P. Morgan report characterized the increase as "meaningfully higher" and stood far above other social networking services.

Morgan Stanley, according to a report, stated Facebook is the main driver of the "continued movement of ad dollars to mobile."

Cisco Systems dropped 1% to $29.05 at the close, on a day when the broader markets surged.

After posting its fiscal third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, in which it slightly beat Wall Street's expectations, Sterne Agee CRT lowered its recommendation to neutral from buy, according to a 24/7 Wall St. report. That downgrade ran counter to two upgrades Cisco received prior to announcing its earnings, according to 24/7 Wall St.

Cisco is facing the challenge of a spending slowdown among some of its large domestic telecom customers, with Cisco's CFO Kelly Kramer saying spending is expected to hover in the mid-single digits and the company is not ready to buy into reports that spending could increase in the second half of the year.

Apple rose 2.3% to end the session at $128.95.

Two institutional investors snapped up a large swath of the stock in the quarter, according to a report in Insidermonkey.com. Madison Street acquired 48,100 shares during the quarter, bringing its total stake in Apple to 60,600 shares and making it its second largest holding, according to the report.

McKinley Capital Management purchased 121,258 shares in Apple, bringing its position in the iconic computer maker to 795,594 shares, or a value of $99 million, according to Insidermonkey.com.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.

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